


Magnets

by Goober



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety Disorder, Bilingual Character(s), Clothed Sex, Dirty Talk, Exhibitionism, Face-Fucking, Hand Jobs, M/M, Oral Sex, Porn With Plot, Semi-Public Sex, Sex Work, Slow Burn, Unsafe Sex, past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-02-11 16:19:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12939027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goober/pseuds/Goober
Summary: “I’m not … usually so careless. It was,” he pauses, unsure how to defend himself. Unsure how to explain the way Gabriel made him feel vulnerable, able to trust a near complete stranger. Jack catches himself, “I made a lapse in judgement.”Ana sighs on the other end and he thinks, hopefully, that it sounds more understanding than disappointed. “Just be careful, Jack. Don’t be too lenient in your judgement. Not with him, not with anyone.”





	1. Just My Type

There are three types of customers.

The first are nervous, shy men dipping their toes into being with other men or a prostitute for the first time. Sometimes virgins, usually touchy feely. Jack doesn’t get them often, but he has a soft spot for them. They’re almost too gentle as they explore their interests, requesting things of Jack instead of taking or demanding them. Rarely does Jack ever get to top, but when he does, it’s with them.

The second kind are frustrated businessmen with wives that won’t satisfy their sexual desires. Men who like to look down on Jack, like he’s somehow not in complete control of them with their cocks in his mouth. Men who think they can threaten him into silence, trying to protect themselves from scandal — as if Jack actually cares about their lives outside the dingy motel rooms they drag him to.

The third type are the assholes; people who like to be almost comically rough just to see him hurt. Because what the hell is Jack going to do about it? People who intentionally break his rule about marking, who shove him against walls and leave him sore for hours after from a considerable lack of prep. They’re more frequent than he likes, but they keep Jack in business like everyone else.

He’s not sure what to make of the man leaning against the alley wall. Jack is usually good at reading people, he has to be. Warning signs are vital for survival in this kind of work.

The man is tall, probably a little taller than Jack. A beanie covers his hair, black like the majority of his clothing. His jeans are loose enough to require a belt, but his shirt is tight. The dim streetlamp highlights him at just the right angle, and Jack can see the outline of his muscles, the hardness of his abdomen. The man’s arms are strong, crossed at his chest with a finger curled around the end of a glowing cigarette. When he exhales a mist of smoke billows from his lips, hanging in the cool night air.

“Hey.”

The scars on the man’s face are more prominent when he looks at Jack directly, intense brown eyes running up his body. His facial hair is thick enough to stand out proudly, and Jack considers it a good fit for the angle of his face.

It occurs to Jack that this might not be the right person. Working with an agency gives customers more anonymity, he wasn’t given a full description of who bought his time tonight, just a location to meet. Just as he thinks it would be a damn shame if this wasn’t his guy, the man drops his cigarette and crushes it under the toe of his boot.

“Hey.”

Jack still isn’t quite sure, adopting a more casual pose as he leans his shoulder into the graffitied brick. With his face shrouded in shadow the man seems more imposing, but Jack calms himself easily with a breath. “Got a place in mind?” He asks, testing the waters.

The stranger takes a step forward, nearly closing the space between them with a move that makes a hard knot of something heavy grow in Jack’s chest. “Here is fine,” the man says, in a distant accent that Jack can’t quite place while his focus is on the sheer amount of muscle on the stranger.

Jack’s brow pinches together. “Why not go somewhere private and make use of your time?”

“We’ll see.”

“I don’t usually … It’s too risky.” Jack feels the creeping sensation of eyes on him, but it’s only the stranger’s bearing into him. He doesn’t flinch when the man brings a hand to Jack’s face, curling a finger beneath his chin and lifting his head up to expose his throat a little more.

“Then you’ll have to be quick, won’t you.” The man rolls the pad of his thumb over Jack’s bottom lip.

“What’s your name?” He asks before he can stop himself. It doesn’t matter, it shouldn’t matter. He’s about to tell the stranger to forget about it when his chin is brought back down, and Jack is caught by the curious glint in the man’s eyes.

“Gabriel.”

He doesn’t get a warning as ‘Gabriel’ brings both of his hands to Jack’s shoulders, gripping harshly as he pushes down. Jack drops to his knees slowly, bracing his hands on Gabriel’s thighs as the man winds his fingers into Jack’s hair. When Gabriel pulls his head back Jack’s eyes transfix on deep pools of brown as the man stares down at him, bending a little to get a better view.

He’s done this what feels like a million times, but there’s something about Gabriel that makes him lose focus, leaves him feeling smaller. He hesitates a beat too long and the grip in his hair tightens, forcing his eyes to tear from Gabriel’s to the front of the man’s jeans. Right.

Jack drags his nails down tightly clad thighs, reaching his hand up to grind the heel of his palm into Gabriel’s crotch. He feels the man’s half hard cock through the denim, and Jack doesn’t break eye contact as he leans in and mouths at it through the fly. He sees Gabriel’s lips pull into a smirk before the shadows fall over his face, body shifting to push his hips out a little more. 

Jack works his lips over the growing bulge in Gabriel’s pants until they tingle with friction, pulling back and moving his hands up to the man’s belt. He’s slow in unbuckling the belt, every move deliberate as Jack’s hands brush over Gabriel’s clothed cock, and when he pulls the belt apart he lets it hang off Gabriel’s hips. He dips his fingers under the waistband of the jeans and touches skin, nails scraping lightly over Gabriel’s hipbones. When he runs the pads of his fingers down he expects to find elastic but finds … nothing.

Pulling back a little Jack cocks an eyebrow up at Gabriel, who grins wickedly.

When Jack quickly unbuttons Gabriel’s jeans and opens his fly, sure enough there isn’t a pair of underwear peeking back at him. Instead the cock pressed against the front of the jeans falls forward from a neat nest of thick black hair as Jack slips the tight pants down enough to give Gabriel room.

Gabriel is  _ big. _ Where he would be considered average his girth is thicker than it has any right to be, uncut and heavy, the head beading with precum.

Sometimes the job has its perks.

Jack leans forward and breathes hotly against the head, eyes sliding from Gabriel’s cock to the man’s face as he grips the thick base. Gabriel is hot and heavy in his hand, and when he rolls his thumb over the vein on the underside Gabriel’s nails scrape across his scalp. Their eyes lock and Jack feels something coil in his gut at the intensity of Gabriel’s gaze as his eyes sear through Jack.

Without breaking that contact Jack’s tongue peeks from his lips and drags along the slit, catching the precum and rolling it around the head. Jack’s hand moves slowly down the shaft and pulls back Gabriel’s foreskin. He slips his tongue beneath the folds, teasing him with short licks. Gabriel grunts and pulls Jack’s face closer, the fist in his hair tightening until it tingles on the right side of discomfort.

Gabriel’s hips tense as Jack pulls him into his mouth, lips fitting around the head and tongue licking and supporting the underside. His hand slides back, lips not far behind as Jack swallows Gabriel down. He can’t quite fit him all the way in, not at first, so Jack hollows his cheeks and sucks as he drags his lips back towards the head. With one hand tugging at Gabriel steadily, giving  _ just _ enough pressure, Jack’s free hand switches between cupping Gabriel’s balls and gripping his hip for support.

He sets a steady pace, sucking and licking at Gabriel as he pumps his fist to pull more of the man’s cock into his mouth. Gabriel’s breathing hitches and he can see the man’s jaw clench. There’s an urgency to the act that has Jack move faster than he would prefer to start with. He always did like a challenge, and it’s hard to forget where he is when his knees protest the cement digging into them, and the light winter breeze kisses his flushed skin.

He pushes down the realization that he might be way more into this than he cares to admit.

Jack bobs his head quicker, sinking down nearly to the base. He fixes his eyes on Gabriel’s and swallows him down as far as he can, breath rushing out of his nose as he feels the head of the man’s cock hit the back of his throat. His jaw already aches and he has to swallow past his nearly non-existent gag reflex but it’s worth it when Gabriel practically  _ growls  _ through his teeth.

Gabriel groans something under his breath in Spanish, the fist in Jack’s hair releasing its vice grip in favor of boxing Jack’s face in with both hands. He tips Jack’s head a little, hips pushing himself deeper into Jack’s throat. When Gabriel pulls back Jack barely has time to catch his breath before Gabriel rocks his hips forward again.

It’s not often he lets customers fuck his face, but the slide of Gabriel’s heavy cock on his tongue mixed with the noises  _ finally  _ escaping the man above him are both too good to pass up. The sounds filling his ears and the alley are slick and obscene as his jaw slacks and Jack reaches up to hook his fingers through Gabriel’s belt loops.

The pace Gabriel sets is rough but slow, his cock sliding gradually into Jack’s mouth until it hits his throat, where he sits for a moment before pulling back. Jack knows he can do more, and from the look in Gabriel’s eyes he knows it too, and the buildup to when Gabriel finally bucks his hips faster is worth it. Jack moans around Gabriel, when suddenly he hears voices drawing closer.

Fuck — he almost forgot.

Jack’s first instinct is to pull off, and he tries to slip away. Gabriel quickly grabs his hair again and drags him back to the hilt. He’s about to make a noise of protest when he can hear footsteps coupled with the voices, they’re close. His eyes find Gabriel’s again and they lock together before Gabriel glances out of the corner of his eye. The hand still cupping his face drags small circles along Jack’s jaw, as if that would make him feel better about their situation.

Just as his lungs protest the length of time without breath, and his jaw threatens to give out, the voices and footsteps don’t falter as they grow farther away. It isn’t until they’re gone completely that Gabriel loosens his hold on Jack’s hair and slides him off his cock with a groan.

“What the  _ fuck _ ,” Jack pants, ignoring the way his cheeks burn against the air. He should stand up, should push Gabriel by his hips and walk away. He should do a lot of things but the sight of Gabriel’s cock still slick with saliva and practically drooling precum from the slit is unfairly tempting. Not to mention he’s harder than he’s ever been  _ in his fucking life _ .

As if picking up on his thoughts Gabriel presses the toes of his boot into Jack’s groin, grinning as Jack catches a moan in his throat, hips starting to grind against the pressure before he forces himself to stop.

“You love it,” Gabriel teases. It’s light, as if they know each other. As if he hasn’t paid Jack to suck his dick in a dimly lit alley at damn near midnight. “Come on, let’s see it.” Another drag of his boot against Jack’s crotch makes him shudder.

It had been somehow less incriminating when Gabriel was the only one exposed, as if Jack could avoid judgement in this situation. Jack knows he should have been more hesitant, but he doesn’t care as he slips his fingers from Gabriel’s belt loops and pulls at his fly desperately. He drags the waistband of both his jeans and his boxers down in one go, breath filling the quiet space between them as he hisses when the air kisses his skin.

Jack’s cock hangs heavy between his legs, flushed like the rest of him, and Gabriel gives an appreciative hum. “There you go,” Gabriel grins again, teeth flashing in the light. He brings his hands to Jack’s face again, thumb pulling Jack’s chin down until he opens his mouth obediently.

“You can touch yourself,” Gabriel says, as though Jack was waiting for some kind of permission. He  _ was _ , but that wasn’t the point. Jack’s retort is lost as Gabriel slips the head of his cock past Jack’s lips roughly.

With the buildup and the now very real possibility of being caught Gabriel seems to have lost his patience. His fingers curl in whatever he can reach of Jack’s hair, nails digging into his skull as he bucks his hips forward harshly. When Jack moans as Gabriel hits the back of his throat the man’s hips stutter for a moment, before returning to their demanding pace.

Jack is torn between holding onto Gabriel’s hips and touching himself, and in the end decides he has two hands for a reason. He grips Gabriel’s hip, slipping his fingers into the belt loops to encourage the man above him to keep going. The hand on his own cock feels like fire as he moans again, thumb swirling around his head.

When their eyes lock again Jack hollows his cheeks just as Gabriel’s cock threatens to cut off his air supply, and Jack is blessed with the sight of Gabriel’s teeth latching onto his bottom lip as he tips his head back slightly. “Mierda —  _ fuckin’ hell _ ,” Gabriel’s voice is gruff, breath coming in a sharp gasp as his hips falter. He’s spilling into Jack’s mouth, pulling back enough to come over Jack’s tongue and not immediately down his throat.

As Gabriel comes down from the high of his orgasm Jack pulls off his cock, swallowing the cum pooling at the back of his tongue. Also not something he does often, the handful of condoms long forgotten in his back pocket. It’s worth it as Gabriel’s dark eyes follow the bob of his throat, and suddenly Jack is being grabbed by his collar and dragged to his feet.

His back is slammed into the brick wall, but Jack is more focused on the press of Gabriel’s body as he pins him in. He watches Gabriel drag his tongue over his hand, slicking his fingers before reaching down and putting his hand on Jack’s cock.

Jack’s hips stutter forward into the tight grip around him, a rush of heat flooding through him as Gabriel stares him down. “Rules?”

_ Fuck rules, _ Jack thinks, before giving the answer he gives every other customer. As if routine would save him now. “No kissing on the mouth, no marking.”  _ Stop when I tell you to  _ is left out, as Jack decides he has no intention of asking Gabriel to stop anything.

Gabriel nods, bringing a thigh between Jack’s legs and pressing up into his balls. Jack groans and grinds down on the offered knee, lets Gabriel grab his jaw and push his face into the wall behind him with a grip just tight enough he couldn’t slip out. His cheek is pressed to the cool brick, eyes straining to find Gabriel still watching him with the same intensity from before.

When Gabriel twists his fist and tugs at Jack he breathes against Jack’s neck, pressing close enough that Jack can feel the heat radiating off him. Gabriel pumps his fist from base to tip at a pace that would be considered too much if Jack wasn’t hyper focused on the breath on his neck, the scrape of Gabriel’s beard against the sensitive skin.

Jack can count on nearly both hands the number of people who got him off in return and meant it. He quietly adds Gabriel to the list as he not so quietly whimpers, not quite sure what to do with his hands. Jack settles for gripping Gabriel’s biceps, and  _ fuck _ , what he wouldn’t do to feel those muscles cage him in. Preferably while Gabriel fucked him until his legs turned to butter.

“Wish you could see yourself,” Gabriel hums in his ear, licking along the shell before grinding his chin against the sensitive spot behind it. The drag of Gabriel’s beard against his throat makes Jack shudder, grateful he is being held up by both Gabriel and the wall.

“Should get you a mirror,” Gabriel continues, words hot and dark against Jack’s neck. “Make you watch yourself lose control.” The hand on Jack’s cock tightens as Jack bucks into it at the taunt, breath hitching sharply.

Jack’s ears burn with embarrassment as Gabriel chuckles. “Oh? You like that idea? I shouldn’t be so surprised, you’re filthy; getting off on almost being caught in public.”

“Gabriel.”

He can feel Gabriel’s grin against his jaw, wicked and enforced by the soft moan Jack makes. “Do you even know what you look like, rubito? Lips swollen, red flushed down to your cock, pretty blue eyes all glassy with want? Yeah, you could start wars over a face like this.” Jack shudders beneath Gabriel, feeling the man’s hand knead into his hip before dragging his nails up the material of Jack’s shirt.

“ _ Gabriel. _ ” His moan is breathless, spine tingling as the pool of heat in his gut boils urgently.

Gabriel gropes at Jack’s pec before pinching his nipple hard between his thumb and index finger, grinding it in time with the pull of his fist. “Yeah, just like that. _Vamos, cariño_. ” The heat of Gabriel’s breath on his neck makes Jack shiver, a needy whine caught in his throat. When Gabriel twists his wrist _just so_ and nuzzles his nose into the space behind his ear, Jack is _gone_.

Jack brings a hand up to his mouth to muffle the cry as he comes, hips bucking into Gabriel’s fist as his muscles tighten. He leans forward, forehead against Gabriel’s shoulder as he rides out the waves of his orgasm.

When Jack’s breath returns to him, no longer caught in his chest from the intensity of his release, Gabriel firmly pushes him back against the wall. Gabriel leans close and brings his cum laced hand to Jack’s mouth, grinning as he watches Jack suck his fingers in. Jack cleans Gabriel’s hand slowly, tongue laving over the fingers in his mouth, whining a little when Gabriel pushes two into the back of his throat. They eyes lock and don’t part, not even as Gabriel removes his fingers from Jack’s mouth and wipes his hand on Jack’s shirt.

Nimble hands gently pull Jack’s boxers and jeans back around his hips, and if Jack leans a little too much into Gabriel, the man doesn’t complain. His breathing slowly eases out, and Jack returns the gesture by tucking Gabriel back into his jeans, careful not to catch him with the zipper.

The air is cold and unwelcome where it touches his skin as Gabriel pulls away, leaving Jack to right himself. Gabriel’s cheeks are still a little dark from the flush of sex but otherwise he looks composed. Jack, on the other hand, knows he looks a complete mess.

This is the part he hates; when people aren’t sure what to say when the afterglow of sex has faded. Some try to be funny, others cute. Some just shove extra money his way and walk out. The anticipation builds as he watches Gabriel watch him. The man reaches out with a closed fist, rolls his wrist in invitation when Jack openly balks at the gesture.

Jack’s laughter echoes in the alley as he knocks his fist against Gabriel’s. Yeah, alright. That’s a new one.

“Later, Soldier.”

In Gabriel’s voice the name makes him want to snap to attention, and it takes Jack a second to realize. Right. The alias he used for the agency.

He should really change that.

“Jack,” he corrects before he can stop himself. “It’s Jack.” 

He never gives out his name, it’s dangerous. It’s a lesson that has been beaten into his head a hundred times, enforced by some of his more demanding, unpredictable clients. But there’s something about Gabriel that makes it seem safe, a little shred of vulnerability that has Jack waiting in anticipation for some kind of response. 

There’s also something to be said about the fact that Jack knows they could both have easily lied about their names, that they both should have. But Gabriel’s face betrayed nothing about his being a lie, and Jack is willing to go on blind faith in the stranger before him. Just this once.

“Jack,” Gabriel finally says. The way he rolls it in his mouth, testing how it sounds, makes Jack’s chest clench. Gabriel’s lip purses as though he’s about to say something, and he sits on it for a moment before his brows loosen as he seems to let go of the thought.

Jack watches him turn and walk wordlessly down the short distance out of the alley, trying to ignore the sting in his gut when Gabriel doesn’t even look back at him before disappearing around the edge of the building. 

He thought his sentimentality was long gone. 

Jack sighs and straightens his clothes, grimacing as he realizes he got cum on on his shirt. His thoughts stray to dark brown eyes as he heads in the opposite direction, footsteps a loud echo against the brick walls around him as he makes his way home.

He’s still not sure what type of customer Gabriel is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mierda - Shit  
> Rubito - Blondie  
> vamos, cariño - Come on, baby


	2. Take A Walk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been approximately 600 years, whoops.
> 
> Now with a [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoPA6AQ2LQ_prhG3TsrqPMfPzjku797JZ)!

Jack runs a hand through his hair, feet wearing a familiar path in the layout of the apartment as he paces. His nails bite into his palms, teeth worrying at his lower lip. 

Jesse hasn’t been home all night.

He should have known something was wrong when he came home to a silent and empty apartment; he didn’t have to shake the kid awake, didn’t have to turn off whatever infomercial was playing too loud on TV. Jack wasn’t thinking about that, stumbling through the door dead on his feet sometime past two in the morning with a scalding shower and sleep as his only goals. 

Jesse tries his best to stay awake until Jack comes home, making sure he was okay, and Jack couldn’t do the same.

With a sense of impending doom heavy in his chest he pulls his phone from his pocket and unlocks it, staring at the screen as it judgmentally displays the last ten unanswered calls to his roommate. Jack considers calling again but it’s been pointless after the first two; Jesse has a bad habit of leaving his inbox full, so leaving any more voicemails is out of the question.

The knot in his stomach grows, panic creeping into the cocktail of guilt and shame he’s been swimming in all morning. “Fuck it,” Jack sighs, thumb hovering over Jesse’s name when the sound of one of their locks unbolting snaps his attention to the door. Then the other. Inevitably it’s the chain lock that prevents the door from opening, but Jack can see the familiar brown stetson through the crack.

“Jack? You home?” Jesse’s voice calls from the hallway, and Jack descends on the door urgently. When he unlinks the chain and moves back his roommate steps into the apartment with a tilt of his hat. “Thank ya kindly.”

The first thing Jack notices isn’t that Jesse is in the same clothes as yesterday, the implications obvious by the way his shirt is only half buttoned through the wrong holes, as though Jesse were in a rush to get home. 

No, the first thing Jack sees is the bruise forming on Jesse’s right cheek, a small cut against his cheekbone.

Jesse seems to feel where Jack’s eyes are glued as he lifts his hand to cover his cheek. “Don’t worry about that,” he says.

“Jesse what the  _ fuck _ ?” Jack’s brows narrow as he breathes through the panic boiling through his system. It wouldn’t get them anywhere if he has an anxiety attack, he tells himself, but Jack feels it happening anyway. “You can’t just show up nearly halfway through the day after not being home — without telling me where you were — with the outline of someone’s knuckles on your face and expect me  _ not to worry _ .”

“Jack,” Jesse warns. “Let it go. Guy’s not worth getting worked up over, I handled it.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” Jack feels the knot of worry tighten again. “You were in trouble and you didn’t tell me, we made a deal.”

“Now hold on,” Jesse cocks his hip slightly, and Jack can see he’s forgotten to zip the fly of his jeans up. “You know I can handle myself. Weren’t any trouble, just some drunk at the club who got a little handsy, didn’t take kindly to being told no. Knocked him on his ass, let Jamison see him out.”

“You got into a fight at work?”

“‘S not really a fight if they go down in one punch,” Jesse shrugs.

“That isn’t the point,” Jack protests, the nail of his thumb biting into the heel of his palm. “We made a promise to make sure we always know where each other is, and to call if something happens.”

“Like I said, wasn’t any trouble.” Jesse takes a few steps forward, but Jack steps in his way. “C’mon man, I need a shower.”

“I tried calling you, I wasn’t sure where you were.” Jack feels his brows pull together, the mask of frustration chipping away. “I thought something really bad had happened.”

Jesse pauses, stopping in his attempt to move past Jack. “I woulda called, but I wasn’t sure where you would be, if you were busy. Didn’t want to bother you none.”

“Why didn’t you call after getting my messages?”

Jesse reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his near broken phone, “Battery’s dead.”

“Jesse,” Jack sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Look, I know. Ain’t an excuse, I shouldn’t have made you worry so much, ‘n I’m sorry.” Jesse reaches out and places his hand on Jack’s shoulder, “Really, ‘m fine.”

“I thought something bad happened,” Jack echos.

“Nah, nothin’ bad. Went to a bar, met a guy, let him take me home. Y’know, normal stuff.” He walks around Jack, making a beeline for their shared bathroom.

It takes a minute for the words to catch up to him through the haze of anxiety, but Jack spins and snaps, “I thought you were dead, you prick. You could have just told me you were getting laid!” Jesse’s laughter bounces off the tiles before the door shuts behind him. Jack stomps over, knocks his knuckles against the painted white wood, “Conversation’s not over, cowboy.”

He has half a mind to wait for Jesse to leave the shower and throttle him, but Jesse is saved by the bell as Jack’s phone vibrates in his pocket.

Walking into the living room he pulls his phone out and checks the screen. An unlisted number is calling, and Jack sighs. Great, of course someone would be calling for him  _ now _ . He breathes through what is left of the knot in his stomach and answers, “Jack here.”

“You are very lucky I’m the one working the phones today, Jack.” A tone of amusement coats the words, and he recognizes the strong Egyptian accent accompanying them.

“Hello to you too, Ana.” Jack leans against the back of the couch, preparing himself for the conversation lingering on the other end of the line.

“Someone requested you for the afternoon.” Not unusual. “Jack, can you tell me why they used your  _ actual  _ name?”

Jack’s blood runs cold, a sharp shock to his system that replaces the anxiety in his stomach with something else entirely. He can practically feel the scrape of a beard against his throat, the heat of someone’s breath in his ear.

No, not just someone.  _ Gabriel _ .

“Jack?”

“Sorry,” Jack apologizes quickly, earning him an unamused huff on the other end.

“Jack, you need to be careful. You know this line of work is dangerous. You have a call name for a reason, you have protections in place for a reason. You can’t just give out things about yourself so easily, or at all.” Ana’s lecture is punctuated by her strict motherly voice, and Jack can practically see her wagging a stern finger at him.

“I’m not … usually so careless. It was,” he pauses, unsure how to defend himself. Unsure how to explain the way Gabriel made him feel vulnerable, able to trust a near complete stranger. Jack catches himself, “I made a lapse in judgement.”

Ana sighs on the other end and he thinks, hopefully, that it sounds more understanding than disappointed. “Just be careful, Jack. Don’t be too lenient in your judgement. Not with him, not with anyone.”

“I know.” Jack runs his hand through his hair, “Thank you, for looking out for me.”

“It’s what I do best.” Ana’s chuckle tells him all is well, and the guilt clenching his chest eases up.

It’s not even noon and his nerves are shot.

“What time does he want to see me?” Jack asks, shifting himself forcefully back into business.

“In about an hour, he says to meet him in a park on the other side of town.” Ana names the park and Jack scrambles to the kitchen to write it down on a cowboy boot shaped sticky note. “He bought a few hours, but it won’t interfere with the rest of your night.”

“Thanks Ana.”

“Remember what I told you, Jack.” Ana says, voice somewhere between teasing and complete seriousness as she hangs up on the protest forming on Jack’s lips.

Jack pinches the bridge of his nose, setting his phone aside.

It’s been nearly eight days since he’s seen Gabriel, but the memory is still very fresh, having made a guest appearance in his shower last night. Jack resigned himself to the possibility of not seeing Gabriel again, figuring the man had gotten what he liked out of Jack and moved along. It’s common, but it would be very unfortunate to lose someone like  _ that _ . 

Jack hastily scribbles something onto a fresh sticky note, walking across the apartment and smacking it at Jesse’s eye level on the his bedroom door. “I’m headed out,” he announces, already toeing into his sneakers. “I’ll be home later.”

He thinks he hears an answering whistle from the shower. Good enough.

 

“Hey.”

Gabriel is seated on a bench in the middle of the nearly empty park, one arm casually around the back. Jack silently hates how comfortable he looks, having spent the walk into the park anxious that everyone knows exactly why he’s here. This is why he doesn’t do public spaces, it’s too open, too exposed. Everyone can see right through him; this paranoia is made worse by the fact that this is the  _ nicer _ side of town, and nowhere near where Jack lives.

He should have taken his anxiety medicine before leaving.

“Hey,” Jack answers with a small smile, sitting on the bench next to Gabriel.

With Gabriel’s arm nearly brushing his shoulder it feels more intimate than it should, a thought he pushes aside in favor of looking Gabriel over. The man doesn’t look entirely different from when they first met; decked in nearly all black, beanie pushed slightly over his hairline to reveal dark curls matted against his forehead in the California heat, scars a little less silvery without the light of a streetlamp to accent them in the darkness.

“How have you been?” Gabriel finally asks, turning his gaze from Jack to watch a man throw a frisbee for his dog in the distance.

“Been alright.” Jack pauses, before asking, “What about you?”

“Been better,” Gabriel shrugs, the roll of his shoulders easy and comfortable. “Can’t really complain, though.”

The silence feels too casual, uncomfortable, and Jack finds himself missing the cover of darkness to hide the nervous bounce of his leg. He’s not sure why Gabriel wanted to meet in a park in the middle of the day. While there are very few people around there’s nowhere for them to go, and maybe he gave Gabriel the wrong idea about the publicity of their last meeting. Jack clears his throat, about to ask, when Gabriel turns to him.

“Want to go for a walk?”

Jack pauses. “Uh, sure?”

Gabriel laughs at the clear confusion in his tone, a sharp but not unpleasant sound that Jack wants more of the second it dies down. He’s grinning, pushing himself up off the bench as he extends a hand for Jack to take. “Come on, I know a good path through the park.”

Jack takes the offered hand and follows in step with Gabriel as they make their way deeper through the park, towards a space more dominated by trees. He lets Gabriel lead the way, unfamiliar with the area as a whole. He’s only been in this part of town a couple times, for a few requests.

“Do you live around here?” Jack asks, looking for something other than the sound of their feet against the pavement.

“Close enough. I used to come here a lot when I was younger.” Gabriel smiles, “It was open late, but I’d always stay much later than I should have.”

Jack smiles, “The trespassing type, then?”

Gabriel shoulder checks him.

The step they fall into is more comfortable, and Jack feels his shoulders lighten as the burden starts to lift. This isn’t too hard. Talking. It’s weird, but not unwelcome, and Gabriel decidedly isn’t bad company. He thinks it’s going to be alright, as Gabriel clears his throat.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” Jack hesitates, Ana’s warning still fresh in his mind. The anxiety that had quieted down before bubbles again, and it must show on his face as Gabriel adds, “You don’t have to tell me.” 

“No I …” Jack’s chest clenches, feeling the effects of being trapped. Gabriel has given him an out, and everything in him screams to take it — if not for his sake now, but for his sake if Ana finds out — but Jack hears himself stumble out, “Indiana. I’m from Indiana.”

Gabriel whistles, “Damn, Rubito. L.A’s a long way from home. What’d you do? Jump on a one-way plane from your family farm?”

“Actually, it was more like seven busses.”

Gabriel’s step falters as he cackles. “No shit, you really did?” A pause. “You didn’t really come from some hick farm did you?”

Jack scoffs, “ _ Hick _ ?” He’s trying not to smile, but Gabriel’s shit eating grin is testing him. “You wound me.”

“Of course you’re a farm boy, what else would you be?”

The urge to knock a playful fist into Gabriel’s shoulder catches him off guard. It’s too familiar for what they are, and he knows it, but everything about today has him thrown out of a loop. Fuck it. Gabriel’s laughter when Jack lightly pushes him makes it worth it to bend the rules a bit.

But.

“Not that this isn’t… nice? But this isn’t what I was expecting when you called me.” Jack says, his focus on the ground.

“Just expected me to pin you against the nearest solid surface and fuck your brains out?” Gabriel teases.

“Preferably somewhere with less visibility, but yes,” Jack glances around to see if anyone had overheard. They haven’t seen anyone for a while, but that doesn’t mean there’s no one here.

“Like you weren’t getting off on almost getting caught last time.” Gabriel’s grin is devious, and Jack stiffens.

“Fuck off.”

“Relax, Rubito. I wouldn’t do anything to compromise you and, more importantly, me.” Gabriel snorts. “I wanted to get to know you, there’s nothing saying I can’t use my time to talk.”

“Well, I doubt anyone else would use their time for conversation.” Jack says. “You’re weird.”

“You have no idea,” Gabriel says with a click of his tongue.

They walk deeper down the path, and Jack isn’t sure if they’re even in the same park anymore. The silence between them is a beat too long, and Jack thinks he’s fucked up the conversation, about to try to regain it when the air is knocked from him. His back hits the tree before he knows what is happening, and his first instinct is to fight. His arm is easily pinned at the wrist against the sturdy trunk, just above his head, and it’s Gabriel’s smirk that makes the fight drain from him.

Jack feels his heart skip, writing it off from the momentary panic.

“I won’t lie,” Gabriel says, and Jack is  _ completely _ aware of how close their faces are as Gabriel’s breath ghosts against his lips. “I’ve been thinking about this since I saw you again.” Jack’s chest is struck by heat as his face flushes, and Gabriel laughs. “There it is. You blush so pretty, Rubito.”

“Again, I was hoping for somewhere less public,” Jack frowns.

Gabriel cuckles, “Well, you’re just going to have to keep an eye out.”

His lips are still so close to Jack’s, too close. He can smell the mint gum on Gabriel’s breath, and he’s suddenly very self conscious about his own. “You remember my rules?” He asks, forcing his head away and creating a chasm between their faces.

“Of course.”

The scratch of Gabriel’s goatee up his pulse point makes Jack’s breath hitch, biting his lip when soft lips press under his jaw. He rests the back of his head against the tree, and Gabriel presses closer, an amused and short laugh vibrating down Jack’s throat.

“Eyes out, Jack,” Gabriel hums.

The hands on his hips roam up, one flat against Jack’s sternum, the other sneaking beneath the hem of Jack’s shirt. Jack doesn’t catch it until it’s too late; Gabriel’s fingers brush up against the burn scars in his side, and he stills for a second before Jack grabs Gabriel’s wrist and shoves it down.

There’s a silence more uncomfortable than anything before, and it hangs long enough for Jack to feel the familiar rise of panic in his chest. Suffocating, fingers curling a little harder around Gabriel’s wrist to stop his hand from shaking.

“Another rule?”

“Yes,” Jack says through his teeth.

Gabriel says nothing as he moves his hand higher, much higher, a safe zone on his pectoral muscle. “You okay?” He asks, quiet, pulling back to look at Jack.

It’s far too intimate, and Jack’s stomach twists with guilt. He didn’t think he’d run into this problem so early, but Gabriel isn’t ripping Jack’s shirt off or asking too many questions. Jack almost wishes he would, the look in Gabriel’s eyes is too soft. Maybe understanding.

Maybe a little  _ too _ understanding.

“Yeah, yes.” Jack releases the breath he was holding, trying to relax. “I’m fine.”

Gabriel looks him over, a thick eyebrow quirked. Jack is about to insist, trying to swallow past the hurricane of anxiety in his chest, when Gabriel moves his hand from Jack’s chest to reach in his pocket. He holds a finger up, bringing his phone to his ear.

“Reyes,” Gabriel answers, eyes not leaving Jack’s.

Jack is suddenly aware of how loudly he is breathing.

There’s a moment of silence while the other end speaks, too low for Jack to hear. Gabriel frowns, the hand still on Jack’s sternum curling his fingers into Jack’s shirt almost absentmindedly. “Right now?” Gabriel asks, annoyance clear in his tone.

Gabriel hangs up and swears under his breath, still holding Jack’s full attention. He closes his eyes and sighs, composing himself, but the hard line of irritation still sits in his brow. “We’ll have to pick this up another time, Rubito.”

Almost reluctantly he stops leaning into Jack’s space, pushing back and letting his hand fall from Jack’s sternum. Gabriel gives Jack a small once over, that look of concern returning to his face as he asks, “You alright?”

Jack laughs, nervous but covered by a smile. “Yeah, I’m alright. I’ll see you again?”

Yeah, that doesn’t seem desperate.

Gabriel smiles, gives a small nod. It’s non-committal, and it sends a flash of insecurity through him. “I’ll see you soon, Jack.”

Jack watches Gabriel walk away, down the path they came down, until he disappears into the distance. It’s only then that he lets himself slump down in front of the tree, back pressed hard into the bark as he pulls his knees up to his chest and lightly knocks the back of his head against the wood.

_ Fuck. _


End file.
